World

Iran Reportedly Developing 'Intelligent Software' to Control Social Media Access

Iran is reportedly developing "intelligent software" that will allow government officials to control access to social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter, letting Iranians access those networks in a government-approved fashion.

The idea of the controlling software seems to be allowing Iranian citizens to use social media for government-approved purposes while prohibiting citizens from using it to spread messages of dissent or organize protests.

News of the software was first reported by a local Iranian outlet, then picked up by the Agence France-Presse.

"Smart control of social networks will not only avoid their disadvantages, but will also allow people to benefit from their useful aspects," police chief Esmaeil Ahmadi Moghadam told the 7Sobh daily as quoted by the AFP. "The designing of intelligent software to control social networking websites" is in the works, he added.

Iran's "online police" have already been monitoring online communications since at least 2011. Iran's government has repeatedly blocked access to foreign services such as Gmail, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, though many Iranians use Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology to breeze past the barrier and get online.

Twitter, among other networks, was a popular organizational and messaging tool during Iran's "Green Revolution" of 2009-2010.

Iran has also been working on a "national intranet" for several months. The idea? Cut ties with the global Internet as much as possible while still preserving the ability to use Internet-style communications for doing business within the country.

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